I hope that title doesn’t come off as a command. I just couldn’t resist the whole “by the book” pun. But on second thought, following my bossy suggestion might not be the worst thing you’ve ever done. Not by a long shot. I just got the new House Beautiful tome, The Home Book: Creating a Beautiful Home of Your Own. It’s chock fulla color schemes, decorating tips & tricks, and rules to follow (and break) when you’re designing your home. And I must say I LOVE it.

It’s really more of a decorating bible than a book, and thanks to the image heavy content, it’s not all preachy and wordy (you know what they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words anyway) but it still takes the time to elaborate on some of the design principles that call for some accompanying explanation. Mine’s already stuffed with little paper bookmarks (a sure sign that I’m super into it) – and in case you’re wondering which pages I marked, here ya go: 151 (love the horizontal stripes), 161 (love the stained wood floor pattern), 165 (love the crisscross bathroom tile), 183 (love the basketweave bathroom floor), 299 (love that gray-green backsplash), and 342 (love the pink on the back of the bookcase).

And beyond the inspirational eye candy, the tips about design rules like traffic flow and furniture placement are perfectly compiled for easy reference. And although it’s $40 for a big 464 page hardcover, it really is a good design source and it looks great on your coffee table (so it multitasks). Heck, maybe you can find it used on Amazon for a bit of a price break. So I just thought I’d spread the word. After all, we’re never too old for a little home schooling.

6 Comments

Oh my gosh, I love your side tables! I would love them in black, they’re adorable.

This book is actually on my Christmas list… I’m really hoping that I get it now that I’ve read your review! I glanced through it during a quick trip to Barnes and Noble and have been wanting to pick it up ever since, but decided to buy for others instead of myself this holiday season :)

And thank you for your response a few posts ago regarding having two of the same chairs in one house. I was thinking along those lines, but wanted another opinion to avoid my house looking contrived and over-worked. Thanks again!

Love this site, found you about a week ago and just can’t keep away,! so many great ideas tips and inspiration! This book looks great and have ordered one.
I’m part of the mydeco community, a great site for anybody interested in interior design, homes or anything creative, find the global community at http://www.mydeco.com Find me there under the name stansbridge.

About

Hey, we're Sherry & John. This is where we chronicled 7 years of our lives as we fixed up 3 homes, had 2 children, became accidental authors and product designers, and shared our adventures (and misadventures) with the world. Now it's a time capsule of sorts, complete with nearly 3,000 posts, projects, and updates.